Soul Of A Kitten
by GreyDog
Summary: A street kitten is trapped in the world of drug traffickers and corrupt cops. Chance Furlong and his mate, Jake Clawson ,who rescue, him are unaware that he's being hunted for what he knows and is marked for death.
1. Prolouge

**THE SOUL OF A KITTEN**

PROLOGUE

_**A/N: I hope you enjoy this and please review, also thank you Ulyferal for being my beta. **_

A young kitten shivered with cold, late one evening. As he tried to hug himself to keep warm, he looked again at the piece of paper his harsh boss had given him. On it was the location of a dealer who knew when every shipment of Catnip was due in. He could be found at Building 101 on Riper Street. The kit looked around and found he had reached the right building.

Going to the entry door, he knocked out the secret code...one knock, pause, three knocks, pause and finally one more. He waited nervously and a few minutes later a fat orange Kat opened the door, he didn't invite the kitten in.

"Are you the messenger for today?" The Kat asked, tensely, his eyes searching the gloom behind the kitten. The kitten nodded and showed him the letter.

Grumbling something incoherent, the orange tom growled, "here..." handing the kitten a piece of paper "...now go...I have a feeling someone's watching us." With no more warning than that, the big Kat stepped back into the building and slammed the door with a bang.

The kitten was grateful for the warning as he looked around him cautiously while slipping the paper into his right pocket. He took off at a trot down the dark street, his eyes and ears alert for anyone following him.

Only when he'd reached the area he was more familiar with, did he even relax, fairly secure that he hadn't been followed. He knew, if he'd ever been caught, his boss would have him bailed out easily, as he had friends inside the police force, but then he would beat the kitten for his mistake.

He remembered only too well the last time it happened. He had been smart and disposed of any evidence so the enforcers that had caught him failed to find anything but still he had been punished.

The main reason for that was though he'd managed to be picked at random that time, it had alerted the enforcers to watch him from now on, ruining his ability to be unnoticed.

It was only because the boss had no one to do the job that the kitten was sent out to do this errand. After checking it was clear, the kitten hurried his steps back to his boss unaware he'd been seen and tailed by the enforcers.

"So Luis, what should we do… pick the kitten up now or continue following him?" The passenger asked his partner who was driving. He was hardily tired of following a kitten around town but Commander Feral had ordered the surveillance, so here they were but he was thoroughly bored. They been watching him for days now but when he made contact with a known criminal, they knew they had to pick him up.

Luis, the driver, didn't respond for some minutes, cruising along slowly with headlamps off but keeping the kitten in sight. He sighed and came to a decision. "We better get him now….if we wait like last time, he'll run and hide the proof before we catch him….sigh poor kitten doesn't know we're trying to save him from the boss we know is controlling him...let's go George," Luis said, pulling the car over to the curb and getting out quietly.

George followed his partner, "I'll go around the back so we can catch him between us." His partner nodded as he continued on toward the fast walking kitten but hanging back so as not to be spotted.

He reached for his radio when they were getting close to another street corner, "George, you in position?"

"Yep, move in," George responded softly over the radio.

Luis tucked his radio in his pocket and hurried to catch up to the kitten. When he was only a block away, he called out, "This is the enforcer...halt where you are!"

The kitten gasped in shock, turning his head to see how close the officer was before turning back to run in a panic the other way. But George was there and grabbed him, sweeping him up in his big arms. "Got you!"

The kitten desperately tried to wriggle free but the officer's grip was like steel. He now saw the other officer who had called out to him run up. 'No...they'll find the list,' he thought in terror.

"Nice work, George."

Luis turned to the kitten. "Easy, we're not trying to hurt you."

But that reassurance didn't help calm the kitten as the officer began to search him. As he reached into a pocket, the kitten jerked and twisted, uselessly.

"It's okay kit….where not going to hurt you" he reassured reaching for the kit's pocket making the kit to jerked back uselessly.

Sighing, Luis just kept searching until he found the list in the kitten's right pocket. He read it quickly and confirmed it was about a shipment of Catnip due in at the docks soon. All they needed now was the kitten's confession to receiving the note and who his boss was that wanted it.

"That it?" George grunted.

"Yeah, we got it. Let's take the kit in for questioning," Luis confirmed, heading back down the street toward their unmarked car.

The kitten's eyes widened at the mention of going to headquarters and struggled even harder to get free. He tried everything he could; hitting the tom with his head in the chest, pinching the arms that held him, scratching everywhere he could reach.

George growled in annoyance but didn't let go of the kitten he carried. They were very close to the car when tried one last thing, he bite as hard as he could into the officer's wrist, drawing blood.

"Argh...why you little shit," George snarled, reflexively letting go.

The kitten dropped to the ground and tore off running in the opposite direction they were heading.

Luis, who was at the car already, heard his partner yell. He looked up and saw the kitten running up the street again with his partner running after him. Swearing in disgust, he tore off after the two of them.

The kitten was far too fast than the two adults and disappeared around a dark corner that led into an alley. George reached the corner only to see nothing.

Luis caught up to him and cursed. He turned and hit the wall with his fist, bitter that he couldn't save the kitten. It was obvious the poor thing was so terrified of his boss that he wouldn't accept help or assistance from the enforcers.

George was taken by surprise when his angry partner suddenly turned and began to throttle him. "You idiot...how could you let him get away?." Luis was beside himself with anger and fear, so kept shaking and choking his partner.

Stunned, George gasped and tried to free himself. "Luis...sorry...*choke* ...I didn't mean to..."

Luis released his partner in angry disgust. "Now we will never find out who his boss is." He hissed as he began to pace back and forth wondering what to do next.

George who was working to get his breath back, said hoarsely, "should we just interrogate the tom he took the information from again?"

"And what…we could arrest him but…..he has a million customers, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack and there's no reason to think the kitten's boss even uses his real name when he deals with this bum." Luis sighed and rubbed his head.

"So…..why not wait for the kit to show up again?" George asked.

Luis sighed. "Because, since the kit lost the info to us, his boss will discard him as dead weight and kill him," He said, tiredly, going back toward their car.

"Maybe the kit is smart enough to escape," George said hopefully to cheer his friend up.

Luis nodded and muttered, "I hope."

They didn't know the kitten had jumped into a dumpster and had remained very still and had heard everything they'd said. Still he couldn't bring himself to tell them where he was so he waited until they had left before climbing out.

He whimpered as he processed what the cops had said. His boss would kill him for having lost the information so what was he to do know? Not being able to go back, he was forced to find a place to hide that was warm and dry so he could get some sleep and worry about what he was going to do tomorrow.

_**Next day...Megakat City...an underground bunker beneath the downtown district...  
**_  
A chubby, disheveled looking tom sat before a TV screen and watched the morning news.

_"This is Ann Gora from Kat's Eye News coming to you live in the more seedier part of town. This morning enforcers arrested Tommy J. for selling information on drug trafficking of Catnip on the docks. Though it will take some time, the enforcers hope to catch the ring of buyers and stop this illegal drug traffic..."  
_  
Hissing furiously, the tom hurled his remote into the TV breaking the screen.

"Damn that kitten...the enforcers must have been tailing him and he'd not back but my contacts didn't call to release him from jail so he must be on the run. He better not get caught or I'll have his hide," he growled to himself, reaching for his bottle of liquor.

He stopped when he heard a knock on his door. He shouted, "Who's there?"

A familiar voice snarled back, "open the door, Tram!"

The other tom, Tram lunged from his seat, dropping his drink as he hurried to answer it. Pulling the heavy metal door open, he asked anxiously, "shit...Frank what are you doing here?"

Frank glared a the tom and pushed his way into the room, forcing Tram to give way. The tom was lean and powerfully built and wore an enforcer's uniform. He looked around the small, cement room in disgust.

"Can't believe you still live in this dump..." he growled.

Glowering angrily, Tram snapped, "Idiot! I'm living here because my contacts including that little brat I use as a runner could rat me out at any time. As much as I hate it, they won't find me here." 'Except for you,' he thought bitterly.

Frank's eyes just narrowed at the other's pissy attitude. "Oh yes...that's right. So where is your little messenger?"

"I don't know. He didn't come home last night. Probably too scared from nearly being caught when he left Tommy J's place and why are you so damn calm about this? If that kitten is caught and decides to sing...you, me, and everyone else are going down since he's seen all our faces. A corrupt enforcer don't do so well in jail," he said snidely.

Frank moved suddenly and punched Tram in the stomach, sending his sorry ass back against one of the walls to slide to the floor, holding his gut and trying to breathe.

"Don't get smart with me, Tram. I know what went down last night you don't. The enforcers got the list but the kitten managed to escape. I've had my men searching the whole damn area for his sorry little hide while you sit here getting fatter every day," he said coldly.

Tram stayed on the floor holding his stomach. "So…..what am I supposed to do?" He wheezed..

Frank sighed disgustedly and using one foot, he raised Tram's face up so they stared at one another. "Find him...what else...and if you manage to kill him with no one seeing...then our problems are solved..." he let the tom go. "I'll try and locate him for you but you will be..." he started to say as he was heading toward the door.

Tram finished his statement sullenly, "...doing the dirty part."

"There you go...you understand perfectly. Now I better get going or Feral will wonder where his new lieutenant got off too...Good bye!" Frank left Tram alone in his cement box.

Grumbling to himself, Tram clambered to his feet and cursed as he rubbed his sore stomach. "Don't worry...I'll take care of the little shit permanently once you or I find him." 


	2. Chapter 1

**The Soul Of A Kitten**

Chapter 1: Two different lives

**Some days later...**

The kitten woke early in the morning, quickly pushing the newspaper off him that he used as a blanket last night, crawling out from under a pile of boxes he'd hidden in so he could sleep protected, and somewhat warm. He studied his surroundings which he hadn't been able to see that well in the dark last night.

It was a dingy alley with brick walls covered in gang graffiti, some of which was destroyed by slash marks from rivals or painted over by the shop owners, two lamps were affixed on either side of a shut door a few feet from him, and a dumpster pouring foul fumes from it stood just across from that. The pile of boxes were stacked beside the dumpster and were what had provided him his shelter for the night as the floor of the alley was filthy, covered in dirt and trash.  
Sighing, the homeless kitten prepared himself for a second day alone on the streets. His stomach began to growl for food but this was something he'd been unable to cure except for the small amount of scraps he'd found in the garbage the other day. He had to find food or he'd starve to death very soon.

Picking a direction, the kitten walked left and down the alley to the street, careful to watch for enforcers on patrol, still on the hunt for him. He kept out of sight behind the early morning pedestrians and whatever other cover he could find as he walked along looking for a way to obtain food. He was reduced to the prospect of stealing to get what he desperately needed and kept an eye out for the perfect mark or chance to snatch produce from a store display.

He thought to head toward the Megakat Mall where he just might be able to panhandle without stealing but if that didn't work, then there would be enough people around to steal a wallet from if he was fast and nimble enough. It was a dangerous gamble but he was out of choices.

**Megakat Salvage Yard...  
**  
Chance yawned as the sun poured in the slightly open curtain and shone in his eyes. Squinting, he groaned. He hated waking up early especially when wrapped around his mate. Jake was facing him with his head snuggled against the tabby's chest. He smiled warmly down at his mate then sighed. He had to get up...today was special and he had things to do and say so he carefully separated from his mate and eased his way out of the bed.

Jake growled a little at the lost warmth then burrowed deeper into the bedding, much to Chance's amusement. Heading off to the bathroom, Chance paused by the closet for clothes then left the room. He took a quick shower, dressed, then headed down the hall to their living area. He went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Setting his breakfast down, he went downstairs to the garage waiting room, unlocked the door and grabbed the paper laying there then raced back up so he could read it and eat at the same time. It was a calm Monday morning, thankfully, and he had time to relax before they had to start work.

It was funny to be up before Jake as the slim tom was usually the early one. His mate should be waking soon and discover him missing then the fun would begin.

His nose was buried in the paper when Jake finally put in an appearance, his footsteps warning Chance of his imminent arrival. The tom was dressed but was still toweling his hair and tail off. His long fur took longer to dry than Chance's short coat.

"Well...you're certainly up early," Jake commented, quirking an eyebrow at his mate. "Someone die or something that managed to get you out of bed?" He joked, tossing the towel on the back of a chair and pausing before getting him some breakfast.

Chance deliberately didn't look up from his paper as he grunted, "maybe..." his tone serious.

Frowning, Jake stood eyeing his mate in concern and annoyance. Something was definitely up but he couldn't fathom what it might be. "Okay, what's going on? This better not be one of your pranks because I'm really kinda tired of them." He may love Chance's humor most of the time but the pranks were straining their relationship just a bit.

Chance didn't look up from the paper, hiding a smile of amusement from his mate. 'Perfect! He doesn't remember day it is.' Composing his face, he lowered the paper and stared into his mate's impatient ones. "Do you really want to know?" He asked mildly.

Still a little leery, Jake reluctantly nodded. "Yeah..."

Chance stood up and pointed a finger at the fridge. "Open it and you'll have your answer."

Jake sighed, grimacing mentally. 'Great, definitely a prank...oh well, better just play along...too early in the day for a quarrel.' With that thought, he reached for the fridge door and prepared to pull it open, 'well here goes...' He actually closed his eyes and pulled the door open. When nothing happened he opened his eyes and stared.

Inside on the top shelf was a nice round cake with red icing and candles and the words 'Happy Birthday, Jake' on it.

Jake blinked at it then turned his head toward his mate in open mouthed, disbelief.

"Happy birthday love," Chance said warmly, "I remembered it was your birthday and got you cake."

An astonished smile graced Jake's face. "You…you remembered...even as busy as we've been...you still remembered?" He asked, amazed. With as hectic their lives were working in the garage and being the SWAT Kats, it was easy to forget important dates so the fact Chance had was just mind boggling.

Overcome with joy, Jake hugged the tabby tightly when Chance came to his side. Kissing the broad face, he murmured, "you're the greatest."

Chance enjoyed the kiss and when they parted for breathe, he whispered, lovingly, "...and that's not all you're getting on your special day...we are going to the mall...but first..." He grinned as he swept his mate into his arms and began to head back down the hall to their bedroom.

Jake whooped as he was scooped up then smirked when he saw where Chance was going. 'Oh yeah! What a birthday morning,' he thought, giddily.

**At that moment, outside the Megakat Mall...**

The kitten had reached the mall, tired and footsore as well as ravenous having not found any food on his trek there. The mall wasn't open yet for business so he found a cubby between two waste containers meant for cardboard and shredded paper where he could wait and stay warm. It would be two hours before the place opened so he would have to listen to his stomach growl angrily for a while.

His plans were very simple, he would slip into the mall when there were several people entering so the guards wouldn't stare at him then walk around until he could find Kat's socializing and not seeing him near to snatch a wallet or a preoccupied queen who's purse was unattended long enough for him to slip the wallet free and run. He had to be very quick and very sneaky or the mall cameras or security would spot him.

Idly, he wished he could just panhandle for money but his attempts at that on the way here had been met with angry words or cold shoulders. And when he'd arrived at the mall, he saw a sign that had clearly said panhandling was not allowed. So pickpocketing was his only option now.

He hope he got lucky as things couldn't get any worse or so he thought.


	3. Chapter 2

SOUL OF A KITTEN

Chapter 2: Saviors

The kitten's patience paid off, dozens of Kats were heading into the mall, many of which seem to be loaded with cash. He quickly walked caught up to a cluster of pedestrians and blithely walked in with them as if he were traveling with the group. Once inside he began to stroll casually around, enjoying the warmth as well as keeping his eyes peeled for an easy target.

It wasn't long before he spotted a she-kat sitting in the food court, alone, her purse hanging behind her seat within easy reach of sticky fingers.

Inside he was hopping with joy, outside he appeared nonchalant as he began to move toward the female but he hadn't gone far when he noticed he, himself was being watched. A couple of adults were eyeing him, obviously wondering why such a young kitten was wandering around on his own and noting how poorly he was dressed.

Feeling uneasy, he quickly veered from his target and headed off in a different direction. Sighing, he felt cheated. That had been the perfect set up and now it was lost just because people were getting nosy about him. It wasn't fair.

As he moved further into the food court hoping for another chance while keeping watch for more staring adults, his stomach chose that moment to growl. It hurt and he whimpered. Trying to distract himself from his very empty belly, he saw a kitten a little older than himself happily eating a hamburger. His parents were sitting with him.

As he was staring at the happily eating kitten, the little male noticed him and stopped eating. A frown crossed his face as he stared at the obviously hungry kitten. Thinking he might get a handout instead, the little thief moved closer to the watching older kitten.

The parents ignored the starving kitten but their son kept staring. This kitten was dressed very nicely and had yellow fur. This older tom stared with questioning eyes at the starving kitten, looked down at his lunch and began to tear a piece of it off.

Just as the older kitten began to hold out the bit of food, his mother suddenly noticed what he was doing and slapped his paw sending the bit of food to the floor.

"Jonathan! We don't feed strangers and certainly not dirty little beggars like that," his mother said scoldingly then turned to the hungry kitten. "Go away...shoo...or we'll call security!"

Jonathan rubbed his paw and stared at his mother in shocked dismay. "But mommy...he's hungry...it's wrong not to help!" he was angry and upset that his mother could act this way.

His mother's eyes hardened. "When you start handing out to them they never stop begging. So I want you to just ignore...there's a good boy." She hissed at the ragged kitten angrily, making a feint with claws at him and giving him a hateful glare.

The father was no better and was only concerned with appearances when he sighed and scolded his wife lightly, "don't make a scene dear." To the hungry kitten he repeated his wife's earlier threat, "go before we call security."

Defeated and still extremely hungry, the lost kitten moved away from the hateful pair of adults. Their son looked devastated and ashamed at his parent's behavior as he watched the poor thing walk away still looking for a handout.

Tears trembled just on the edge of falling on the poor kitten's eyes as he hurriedly left the food court for a secluded corner where he could be alone but still within the warmth of the building.

Normally, security would have seen the kitten and check him out by now especially if the security cameras had seen him wandering around but it was a busy season and the place was packed so he went unnoticed for quite a while.

This allowed the kitten to hunker down behind a trash bin and a wall not far from a little used entry door. He huddled there and cried miserably for more than an hour. When his tears had all wrung out of him, his eyes were red but his thoughts were cold.

If no one cared about him despite how young he looked, how hungry, and how badly dressed he was then he didn't care about them either. His whole focus now was on finding someone to rob and get enough money to get away from all this and finally get a meal with no one staring at him.

With his mind set, he headed back out to the main part of the mall and actively hunted a target.  
He no longer cared if he were caught or not, anything was better than this.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Elsewhere in the mall...

Chance and Jake had arrived and were heading toward a few game and clothing stores. Jake was having fun searching for some new toy or game and trying on some cool clothes. Chance smiled happily at seeing his mate enjoying himself. Nothing was too good for his mate on his birthday.

After a couple of hours of shopping, the headed to the cinema to was the new horror movie 'Demonic Kat.' It turned out to be a pretty cool movie with plenty of scary effects that had them jumping in their seats with heart thumping fear.

When it was over, they thought to get a bit to eat and look around some more before heading home.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Chance asked wrapping an arm around Jake's shoulders and tugging him closer to him.

Jake smirked, "The movie and you. The way you jumped during all those scary effects made me laugh rather than scream as everyone else were doing."

The tabby blushed but didn't mind being teased. Jake chuckled, h enjoyed it when his mate got scared and jumped when he was scared...it just made him more adorable.

Chance coughed trying to cover his embarrassment, looking away as if he were studying the shop displays.

"Oh come on...at least you didn't faint like that Kat next to us," Jake said, cajolingly, giving his mate a bright sunny smile.

Chance was about to respond when he felt a paw sliding something from his back pocket, "What the…." Turning swiftly, he caught a very young kitten with his wallet in his paw.

There was a frozen moment as they stared at each other before the kitten released he'd been spotted and ran with Chance's wallet firmly in his little fingers.

Chance was stunned for a second then tore off after the kitten, Jake on his heels. The chase took them around the mall as the kitten desperately tried to shake them. He raced around other kats using his small size to the best advantage but he wasn't shaking the pair of males.

Risking a glance back to see if the anger tom was still there, the kitten was terrified to see he was and before he could turn his head back around, he ran into a pillar and bounced back to hit the floor with his butt, his head ringing.

Before he could recover, Chance was on him in a second. Grabbing the kitten by its scruff, he lifted him to eye level and looked the little fellow over. He was angry but he paused when he noticed how dirty the kitten was and how small.

Taking a little more care but not letting the culprit go, he asked, "what's the deal? Why did you lift my wallet? Where's your parents?" He got no response except a whimper. "Hand over my wallet."

Afraid he was going to be beaten, the kitten hurriedly handed over the wallet and tried to curl up in a ball despite being hung in the air by his scruff.

"Chance, you get your wallet," Jake asked coming up behind the pair.

"Yeah, this little thief took it but apparently he's not in the mood to answer any questions," his mate said, tucking his wallet back in his pocket.

"Hmm, looks a bit too thin, don't you think, love?" Jake observed. "Here let me hold him."

"Yeah, he does and dirty," Chance agreed, wrinkling his nose. He handed the kitten over to Jake who cradled the now shaking kitten in his arms. "Aww, where are your parents, little one? Who left you all alone?" He asked gently, caressing the kitten's face with a finger. There was no answer as the kitten shook and stared into the male's face still too terrified to speak but his stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.

"Ohh, sounds as if someone is very hungry."

"Who would leave a kitten this young alone like this," Chance wondered aloud, now more angry at the missing parents rather than at the kitten. He'd already forgiven him for his thievery. "Hey, it's okay, I'm not still mad. I'm guessing you're so hungry you thought you had to steal to get food. Why didn't you just ask? We would have been happy to feed you."

The kitten's eyes were wide in shock and embarrassment. He just shrugged and huddled deeper into the friendly male's arms. It felt safe and warm there. He couldn't remember when he'd been held last and it felt so good.

"Well, he's not going to get fed if we just stand around here, buddy. So let's go feed him and perhaps he'll talk to us then," Jake suggested, beginning to walk back toward the food court.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea."

Back at the food court, Chance went to order food for the kitten while Jake went to a table that was in a quiet corner so the kitten could eat in peace. When Chance returned with a tray filled with a burger, some fries, and a large glass of water, the kitten snatched the burger before the tray was even set down and ate almost frantically.

Jake had to reach out and take it causing to meow angrily and try to take it back. "Easy, easy, you have to eat slowly or you'll throw your food up. Let that digest and drink just a little water...trust me on this."

The kitten blinked at him in surprise but did as he was told despite how much he wanted to just devour that burger non stop. Sighing and grumbling, the kitten did as told. That first bite still lingered in his mouth and tasted wonderful but the sip of water was just as wonderful. He hadn't realize he'd been that thirsty.

Chance had gotten food for himself and Jake and was now eating heartily while watching the kitten closely. Jake ate slowly and kept a close eye on the kitten. He stroked the small head but the kitten was too preoccupied with his meal to notice.

The tabby couldn't help but smile at the oddly domestic scene Jake made caressing the kitten as if it were his own. The poor little guy looked terrible. He frowned as he realized the kitten could be an orphan and was very likely homeless.

When the kitten had eaten most of his burger and had finally slowed down a bit, Chance decided to see if he was willing to answer some questions.

"Hey there little guy, you have no parents do you? He asked softly. A small shake of the head was his answer. "Hmm, so do you live in an orphanage?" Another negative shake. "Okay, so you were stealing because you've not eaten in a while?" An embarrassed duck of the head and a slow nod told him what he'd guessed.

"How old are you?" Jake murmured in his little one's ear. Raised paws with four on one paw and two with a third folded finger on the second paw told him the answer. "Six and a half?" he asked in shock. The kitten nodded and went back to eating his frys.

Jake stared at his mate with an unhappy look. Chance returned it with a silent 'what do we do now' look on his face.

Jake looked down at the kitten and thought hard. No way did he want to send this kitten to an orphanage. They might feed and clothe him but too often any kind of emotion was left out of the equation. But how could two males look after him, especially considering what he and Chance did in secret. Crud, what a mess.

Not wanting to make this decision without at least asking the kitten what he wanted, Jake asked, "do you want to go to an orphanage?" A violent head shake. "Want to stay with us?"

The kitten froze and stared up at him in disbelief. This wasn't what he expected of complete strangers. The two seemed really nice and they did feed him. If he refused, he would be in dire straights again and had no place to sleep either. That decided him. He raised his paw and pointed at both of them.

Chance laughed at that then sighed. More seriously, he stared at the little tom and said, "okay, you can come with us but there are rules you must obey. My name is Chance and this is my mate Jake. You must listen and obey everything we say...no more stealing and no snooping around, agreed?"

The kit nodded rapidly.

"Okay, then, its getting late so time to leave and that means a bath for you mister when we get to our home," Jake said pinching his nose and grimacing.

The kitten frowned, confused. He took a sniff and shrugged not really certain what the tom meant or why he needed a bath but he'd do as told so he could stay with him. Getting to their feet, the kitten walked between the two males as they made for the exit. Though he was happy to be going somewhere nice and warm, he still wasn't certain if they meant to keep him or kick him out to fend for himself again. He would have to wait and see.

Jake rolled his eyes and sighed to himself. 'What a strange ending to my birthday. Hope this doesn't bite us in the ass later.'

AN: Please Review.


	4. Chapter 3

Soul of a Kitten

Chapter 3: The Dangers and Joys

AN: Thank you Ulyferal for been my beta.

The kitten gasped for air when Jake dunked his head a moment then let him up after washing his hair. He knew he'd be getting a bath by the way the two adults leaned their heads toward their cracked windows of the truck. He must of been really ripe. Jake hadn't even let him step foot into their apartment, choosing to carry him all the way upstairs to the bathroom and turning on the water.

His clothes had been taken away by Chance while Jake plopped the kitten into the warm bath water and began to scrub him down thoroughly with a rather nice smelling soap.

Jake chuckled, "Hold still….I'm almost done."

He smiled, amused by the kitten's expressions as he was being washed. With all the dirt and other substances gone, Jake could see the little tom had silver colored fur. A frown slide over his face though when he saw the marks on the kitten's back, evidence that someone had beaten the kit in the past with their claws or other objects.

The sight of it made him growl under his breath. If he could find the one who had done this, he would beat the guy senseless. However, that was for later, right now the kitten was clean and safe.

"There all done" he announced, pulling the kit from the bath water and drying him under the blower until the kitten's coat fluffed out.

The kitten whined a bit at all the brisk treatment but didn't complain to strongly as it did get him cleaner than he could remember being except for the times when the boss had him spruced up when he had females around. He hadn't wanted the she-kats to think he didn't care for the kitten and report him.

Thinking of his boss made him shiver as he remembered what the cops had warned him...his boss would exact revenge on him because he disappeared. Terror took hold of him at the thought of that tom finding him and he yowled inconsolably.

Jake was startled and concerned when the kitten began to wail. He swept the kitten into his arms, towel wrapped warmly around the little body, and rocked the frightened kitten, murmuring soothingly to him.

"Easy...easy little one, you're safe here..." he repeated over an over again. He could only imagine what was going through the kitten's head to cause him to howl like this and shake in fear. When the kitten was calmer, he would try to find out.

A knock on the door of the bathroom told him his mate was concerned. The door opened and Chance's head peered in. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I don't know yet but he scared. I'll have to hold him a little bit to see if I can calm him down."

"Maybe some warm milk will help, I'll go make some. Oh, and the clothing stores were closed so I went through my stuff and found something that might hold him until tomorrow,' Chance held out some tiny clothing.

Jake blinked at it in surprise. "Why do you still have these?"

Chance snorted, "my mother hung onto them then gave them to me. Told me to keep them as a reminder of my younger days. I couldn't say no, so I've had them stored in a box in my closet. Looks like it was a good thing," he said mildly amused.

He stared down at the slowly quieting kitten. "I'll just put these in the bedroom. You can help him pick something out while I make him some warm milk."

"Good idea, Chance, thanks," Jake said, warmly. His mate nodded and smiled then disappeared down the hall. Sighing, Jake lifted the kitten into his arms and carried him off. They passed Chance coming from the room they were putting the kitten as he now headed for the kitchen.

Going into the room, Jake could see Chance had made up a nice cot bed with plenty of blankets and a pillow waiting for the kitten. The clothing was on the bed too.

Putting the kitten down, Jake stared into the bloodshot eyes. "Are you okay now?"

The kitten thought about that a moment then sighed and nodded. He did feel a little better from crying his fear out and being held so wonderfully. He couldn't remember when he'd been treated so kindly before.

"Well, that's good. When you're ready, perhaps you can tell us what's happened to you, okay?" Jake asked carefully.

The kitten's eyes widen with renewed fear and he shook his head violently.

"Easy, it's alright...we won't force you but I found it helps to talk to someone when you are in trouble but we'll not bother you. Now, Chance gave you some nightwear to pick out. Why don't I leave you to do that...don't worry...I'll just outside the door. Okay?" Jake asked, gently.

The kitten nodded and sighed when the tom did as he said he would, go out the bedroom door and close it. It felt strange to have someone care about how he felt and give him privacy. He noticed they'd gone to a lot of trouble setting up a place to sleep for him as well. Wow! No floors for me. How cool is that?

Shaking his head in amazement at his good fortune, he turned and stared down at the choice of clothing. There was a slightly big a blue T-shirt with black boxers and the other was a black t-shirt with the logo "Fly Kats", on it with white boxers. A tiny smile crossed his tired face as he chose the latter.

He quickly pulled on the clothes, which fit him well, liking the scent left on them. Feeling decent and clean, he went to the door and opened it. There was Jake and Chance who was holding a mug.

Chance smiled when he saw what the kitten had chosen. "I guess you and I have the same tastes….here something warm to drink. Are you still hungry? Would you like to watch some TV before sleeping?" he asked.

The kitten stood in the door undecided. He was still very leery of the two males even though they had been nothing but kind to him. Hearing the TV in the other room, he made his decision. Though tired, he was still to wound up tight and afraid to sleep yet so he pointed down the hall.

"Okay, TV it is. I'll give you the mug in there," Chance said, heading off down the hall followed by Jake. They let the kitten decide to follow or not at his own pace.

The kitten waited a bit before following them then walked slowly down the short hall to a small living area. Everything here was worn looking but it was clean. They weren't rich obviously but seemed happy enough.

He stood in the doorway, hesitantly. Chance and Jake had gone to the couch and sat. They glanced at him questioningly. Inwardly they sighed. It was obvious this kitten didn't trust anyone and it would take time and care to gain that trust. They would just have to be patient.

Jake had already whispered to Chance while they waited for the kitten to dress about what he'd found on the little body. The tabby had been furious. Whatever it took, they would protect this little tom from further abuse.

Neither moved, though they dearly wanted to, allowing the kitten to chose what he wanted to do. Jake, however, couldn't resist saying, "it's okay little guy...you can trust Chance and I not to hurt you. We only want to help you and take care of you. Come sit...relax...your warm milk is getting a bit cold."

Not really able to resist the cinnamon tom's gentle voice, the kitten walked slowly over to the couch and stared up at both toms for a long moment then took a seat between the two. Neither tom moved for fear of scaring the kitten but Chance did lean slowly forward and picked up the mug then held it patiently before the kit.

The little tom cautiously took the mug and sniffed its contents. It smelled good so he carefully took a sip. It was just milk and he sighed, relaxing for the first time in days. Chance smiled at his mate over the kitten's head. As first steps went...this one was a success.

They relaxed and watched the David Litterbin show. The kitten found it mildly fascinating especially the red haired tom's antics. When he'd finished the milk, Jake took it gently from his paw and placed it back on the table. As the show progressed, the kitten felt safe enough to lean his head against Jake's side, feeling the strong heartbeat against his ear.

Jake smiled sadly down at him. What a terrible life this little one must have been living to be so afraid of everything. Only time would tell if he learned to trust again at all.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

In the more seedier part of the city, a group of toms were having a secret meeting, all were wearing Enforcer uniforms. The room they were in was mostly dark, lit by only one naked bulb in the ceiling that shone onto a table they sat around.

"So you're saying this brat is loose somewhere in the city and none of you knows where?" one of the figures snarled, slamming a fist to the table. He was furious that his fellow officers hadn't been able to find this kitten yet.

"Stuff it! I have everyone of my officers searching for that pain in the tail. What? You think I want to go to jail and be someone's bitch? Think again!" another snapped, coldly. He reached for one of many bottles of beer that sat on the table. He slugged down a healthy gulp.

"Yeah! Stop your whining. We've all been searching but you're talking a kitten in a city of millions. It will take time!"

"Fuck you! I don't need you telling me that! It's just that him being out there somewhere, he could already be singing like a bird to someone so what do we do about that, huh? Answer me that?" The first speaker snarled.

"Calm down you jackasses. No point in worrying about that. Though I doubt that brat will say anything to anyone...he's far too scared. He might even be dead...kittens don't survive that well on their own you know, so we need to keep an ear out at the morgues," the one known as Frank broke into the whining session, coldly. "We need to go back over everything again. Retrace the kittens steps and see if we find anyone new that might have been missed on the first canvas for him. Don't forget, by now, if he's still alive, he's very hungry and desperate so will most likely steal and that should stir up some new witnesses. Where do you think this kitten would go to try and grab some dough and/or food?" He stared around at the others making them think.

"Well, if he could find a way, the mall would be the perfect place..." one ventured.

"If he could get in. A kitten with nobody would have struck an alarm with someone," another scoffed.

"But if he did manage it..."

"Okay, say he does, then he could still be holed up there, hiding or someone good Samaritan took him under their wing," another said with more animation.

There was a moment of silence on that comment. Finally, one of them said, "Then were screwed because he could be anywhere. So how do we find him then?"

Frank rolled his eyes, "no point looking at the negative until we track the kitten's movements. I think the mall would be a good place to start and ask around or would you rather continue whining and worrying about getting caught?"

Everyone grumbled but finally agreed. "Fine, we backtrack the kit and check out the mall. Hope we find something of him or we're doomed," the first speaker said sourly. The others could only agree on that assessment..

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

As the clock struck nine, Chance stretched and looked over at his mate. He was about to speak when he noticed the kitten was fast asleep in his partner's lap. Smiling, he made hand signals telling Jake that he would take the kitten to bed.

Jake smiled back. The tabby stood up then gently lifted the kitten from Jake's lap and carried him down the hall toward the makeshift room. He held the kitten close to his chest so it's body wouldn't cool.

Jake followed after them after turning off the TV. He opened the door for Chance then flipped the bedding back so the tabby could lay the kitten down, then gently covered the sleeping tom, tucking the bedding in around the small body. They turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Moving away from the door and back down the hall, Chance asked, "hey, love? Do you want to go do some work in the hangar tonight?"

Jake shook his head. "No, I'm tired and I want to stay close in case the little guy has a nightmare."

"Oh yeah, good idea. Okay, bed then," Chance murmured as the two toms went into the bedroom across from the kitten's.

They quickly changed into boxers and climbed into bed together. Spooning Jake from behind, Chance murmured a soft good night and kissed the smaller tom on the tom of the head.

Jake sighed, pulled the bedding further up their bodies and went to sleep rather quickly wrapped in his lover's arms.

A/N: Please Review.


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